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The Semi-Ultimate Guide to Self-Editing Your Content Like a Pro

I don’t have money to hire a professional editor.

So for the last five months, I’ve spent my free time becoming one.

This article will guide you through the exact editing process I’ve developed to consistently turn my crappy articles into sorta-decent ones. There are no friends, co-workers, or editors required — only you, yourself, and… you again.

It’s important to balance these two out. If you’re hyper-focused on driving results to your business, your article will sound “selly.” But if you’re hyper-focused on your readers, ya ain’t gonna drive any results.

Once you have both, slap them on a sticky note or a text document. You’ll use them more later.

2. Start big.

Before diving into the small details of your article, you need to ensure that its overarching structure and flow are rock-solid.

“I’ve often wondered what goes into a hot dog. Now I know and I wish I didn’t.” — William Zinsser

“Mother died today.” — Albert Camus, The Stranger

“It was the day my grandmother exploded.” — Iain Banks, The Crow Road

I’m a simple man. If I see “grandmother exploded,” I continue reading.

(Remember: The purpose of your first sentence is to entice your readers to read the second. The purpose of second is to entice your readers to read the third. And so on. So don’t hesitate to use these rules for your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sentences as well.)

2. Shorten your other sentences.

Short sentences help to maintain the momentum your reader gains from your first sentence.

I like to view my articles as “quick-start” roller coasters (like this). Once you’ve boarded, I want to propel you into the heart of my article as quick as possible with your eyes wide and attention flaring.

Short sentences help me achieve that goal.

…but don’t take this the wrong way.

I’m not saying every sentence in your intro needs to be three words long. That would be boring. All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t start with a giant passage like Ephesians 1:3–14.

3. Throw in some “snappers” (if the mood is right).

“Snappers” are short, comedic sentences strategically placed at the ends of your paragraphs, like so:

“Snappers” are great for keeping your reader’s attention during slower intros. William Zinsser said it best in On Writing Well:

“Make the reader smile and you’ve got him for at least one more paragraph.”

4. Fix the transition between the intro and the body.

Stay away from transitions like…

“In this article…” or,

“In this post…”

Your readers (should) already know what your post is about from your headline, so there’s no need to restate it. Instead, lead your intro naturally into your body paragraphs, like in this example from Srinivas Rao:

Notice how the last bit before point 1 — “three themes kept emerging” — fades directly into the body of the article. That’s what you should aim for.

(There is an exception to this. If your article is super long and packed with useful information or step-by-step processes (like this one), it’s not a bad idea to re-prepare your readers for the journey they’re about to take.)

Boom. Intro done.

Now let’s move on to your body paragraphs.

The Body Paragraphs

(p.s. You can use each of these tactics in your introduction paragraph as well.)

1. First, check for economy.

Are your sentences clear and concise? Or are they long-winded and jumbled with gobbledygook?

(I don’t know where the f**k I got ‘gobbledygook’ from)

If you don’t know the difference, here’s a long-winded sentence:

“Do they have something in common with the story the artist is telling?”

…and here’s the same sentence said concisely:

“Do they relate to the artist’s story?”

Notice the difference? One makes you want to die, and the other makes you want to keep reading.

3. Hunt for cliches.

Cliches are a disease.

“Lazy writers use clichés as business platitudes and seem to insert them almost reflexively, without much forethought or intention. Their use is often redundant and vacuous — in other words, they don’t add a lot to a discussion.” — Ann Handley, Everybody Writes

So if you wrote a sentence that you feel like you’ve heard before (and it didn’t come from you), switch it up. Or, if the cliche is particularly ghastly, you can throw it inside a set of quotations to remind your reader that you aren’t that careless.

Create simple transitions. Each of your sentences should build off your previous ones. Same goes for your paragraphs. You can also use Joseph Sugarman’s “seeds of curiosity” to propel readers further down your piece — these are phrases like “but here’s the thing,” “but that’s not all,” “let me explain,” etc. Just be sure to use them in moderation.

Strengthen your verbs. “Punt” is more interesting than “kick.” “Jab” is more descriptive than “poke.” And “hurl” is way funnier than “puke.”

Remove repetitive sentences and paragraphs. If you’ve said something once already, there’s no need to say it again.

Conclusion

By now, I’m going to assume that you’ve cut your conclusion and ended with a strong CTA instead. But if you haven’t….

Just do the same stuff you did to your body paragraphs.

👍

4. Break time.

By now, your brain is probably telling you:

“Dude, take a f**king rest. You’ve edited enough already.”

…and it’s probably right.

So go walk the dogs. Take a countryside drive. Meditate. Do whatever you need to do to clear your head — you’ll need it for this last step.

5. Finally, do one last sweep.

Read your entire piece aloud. And as you’re reading, ask yourself:

Do all my sections and paragraphs flow smoothly?

Have I said what I wanted to say?

Have I achieved the goals I outlined in step one?

Do I have enough data to backup my points?

Have I used a consistent voice across my piece?

If you can answer “yes” to all those questions, I have good news for you:

6. You’re done. Now go and publish that shit.

…

…then repeat the process hundreds of times over with all your other articles.

Have fun!

Final Note

There’s a lot of information in this article.And there’s no way you’re going to stuff it all into that cranium of yours.

So don’t.

Instead, pick one section and practice it for a week. Lock it into your memory nice and tight. Then, once it’s locked, move onto another section and repeat the process.

That’s how I’ve mastered every writing skill I have.

Speaking of which…

If you want to follow along with my journey to writing mastery, I send a newsletter every Friday that details everything I’ve learned about writing in the past week. You can sign up here: